414 With Rod and Gun in New England 



regaled ourselves with a mixture of hot water, butter, spice, and " Old Law- 

 rence of '58 " which put us in a happy mood, and made our small party " a 

 mutual admiration society." We then had a dinner to which the c?iisine 

 of our noted clubs or hotels "ain't in it," in comparison, for our larder 

 was filled with terrapin, " Lynn Haven bays," fresh fish, wild fowl of all 

 kinds, winter yellow-legs and English snipe. 



To our dinner was added several choice bottles, and after it had been 

 enjoyed we had our social chat in which the incidents and sport of the day 

 were discussed ; then, with the tea-kettle singing, we had three rubbers for 

 the choice of mixture, and our Scotch with lemon attachment was enjoyed, 

 and by eight o'clock we were in our beds and were lulled to sleep by the 

 different notes of the thousands of ducks, geese and swan which surrounded 

 our island. Our club preserves, in the years from 1860 to 1880, were noted 

 as a famous resort for the canvas-back duck, as will be seen by the follow- 

 ing score of game killed during twenty-three consecutive days, the last of 

 November and the first of December in 1875, this score having been pub- 

 lished in Forest and Stream of that year. The members present at that 

 time were : Messrs. Keeler, Tufts, B. F. Ricker, and the writer. The total 

 of the score was 1,489 ducks, 881 of which were canvas-backs, 21 geese 

 and 8 swans. 



The best individual scores during this period were : Nov. 8, by Mr. C 

 P. Keeler, 98 ducks, 70 of which were canvas-backs, and 2 geese ; Nov. 26, 

 by Mr. Ricker, 100 ducks, 79 of which were canvas-backs; Nov. 30, by 

 the writer, 95 ducks, 71 of which were canvas-backs, and 1 swan. 



The following is the complete score : 



Nov 



